5 questions with: Jim O'Malley

Dr Jim O'Malley is a Dunedin City Councillor and head of the "Own the Factory'' campaign that last week raised $2 million through crowd-funding to buy and expand the operations of the Otago Chocolate Company (Ocho).

What smell do you find irresistible?

Christmas lilies. They always put me in the festive mood.

What is your least favourite thing about humanity?

Bigotry and narrow mindedness. Sometimes, too much attention is paid to people who seem to hate almost everything and everyone who is different from them.

What is one strong childhood memory?

Hay-making on the family farm at Ikamatua, on the West Coast. I grew up on quite a big sheep farm in the Grey Valley, so haymaking was a big adventure at the height of summer with trucks and tractors and lots of people all working together. Great fun when you were a kid.

What is your message?

There is a tendency these days to say that competition is a good thing and it's often used to justify treating each other badly. I'd like to say that co-operation is not such a bad thing either.

If you were going to an island and could only take three things, what would they be and why?

A boat, lots of fuel and a compass. That way, I could stay on the island for as long as I wanted, then leave when I chose.